ABOUT
KING GILGAMESH & THE MAN OF THE WILD
a music-charged epic crossing cultures and centuries
CREATED BY SETH BOCKLEY, JESSE LAVERCOMBE & AHMED MONEKA
DIRECTED BY SETH BOCKLEY
STARRING JESSE LAVERCOMBE & AHMED MONEKA
featuring the sounds of acclaimed world music ensemble
Moneka Arabic Jazz
KING GILGAMESH & THE MAN OF THE WILD is a one-act theatre-music production that fuses a scripted play featuring actor-musicians Ahmed Moneka and Jesse LaVercombe with live performance by Ahmed's acclaimed Arabic-maqam / jazz band, Moneka Arabic Jazz. The play traces the friendship of “Ahmed” and “Jesse” as they meet in a Canadian coffee shop and forge a bond while confronting their differences – one Jewish, one Muslim, and each born in the shadow of the first Gulf War between the USA and Iraq.
The present-day story of a friendship interweaves with the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. The play, co-created with director Seth Bockley, features themes of art, sex, fatherhood, mortality and identity.
The play’s action is accompanied throughout by the emotional, rousing and world-spanning music of Moneka Arabic Jazz. This music scores the show’s physical, expressive, playful and intimate theatricality. Ahmed’s band, Moneka Arabic Jazz, includes members from across the globe (Algeria, Sudan, Greece, Iraq, and Canada).This band erupts into a full musical set at the culmination of the play’s narrative, which traces Ahmed's real evolution from an actor-refugee in a new country to an acclaimed musician at the top of his game.
Our two-man epic spans centuries, cultures and continents, illuminating the mysteries of love, death and friendship in a moving, funny, tragic and ultimately celebratory ‘play with music’ that appeals to theatre and music audiences alike.
The present-day story of a friendship interweaves with the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. The play, co-created with director Seth Bockley, features themes of art, sex, fatherhood, mortality and identity.
The play’s action is accompanied throughout by the emotional, rousing and world-spanning music of Moneka Arabic Jazz. This music scores the show’s physical, expressive, playful and intimate theatricality. Ahmed’s band, Moneka Arabic Jazz, includes members from across the globe (Algeria, Sudan, Greece, Iraq, and Canada).This band erupts into a full musical set at the culmination of the play’s narrative, which traces Ahmed's real evolution from an actor-refugee in a new country to an acclaimed musician at the top of his game.
Our two-man epic spans centuries, cultures and continents, illuminating the mysteries of love, death and friendship in a moving, funny, tragic and ultimately celebratory ‘play with music’ that appeals to theatre and music audiences alike.
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"Moneka and LaVercombe are flat-out superb."
Arthur Dorman, Talkn' Broadway
MEET THE TEAM
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AHMED MONEKA (Creator and Performer) arrived in Toronto from Baghdad six years ago and has since collaborated with many artistic institutions including the Canadian Opera Company, Tarragon Theatre, Aga Khan Museum, Tafelmusik, Driftwood Theatre Group, Toronto Jazz Festival, Koerner Hall, Modern Times Stage, Jabari Dance Theatre, Toronto Laboratory Theatre, Theatre Centre, and TRIA Theatre. He is one of the founders of the band Moskitto Bar and is the creator and leader of Moneka Arabic Jazz – a 2019 Stingray Rising Stars Winner at the Toronto Jazz Festival. JESSE LAVERCOMBE (Creator and Performer) is an award-winning writer and actor who works across film, TV, and theatre, splitting his time between Stillwater, Minnesota and Toronto, Ontario.As a writer, he worked on two feature films coming out in 2023, Float (Lionsgate/Collective Pictures) and Code 8: Part ll (Netflix/Collective Pictures), and he continues to write on new projects with Collective Pictures. He also won the Playwrights Guild of Canada Emerging Writing Award for his three-act play, Hallelujah, It’s Holly, and has written a range of short films, plays, musicals, libretti, and articles. As an actor, he won the 2021 Toronto ACTRA Award and received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for his work in Violation (TIFF, Sundance, SXSW, New York Times Critic’s Pick). He’s also known for portraying Jack Walker for four seasons on Murdoch Mysteries (CBC) and has performed on stages across the U.S. and Canada. Training: National Theatre School of Canada, Canadian Film Centre Actors Conservatory. SETH BOCKLEY (Creator and Director) is a writer of plays, fiction, and screenplays, and a theater artist specializing in literary adaptation (two stories by George Saunders, the novel '2666' by Roberto Bolaño). His stage works have been seen in Mexico City, Singapore, rural Ireland, Canada and all over the USA. An inaugural member of Chicago’s Goodman Theater Playwrights' Unit, for three years he served as Writer in Residence at Goodman Theater. He is Director of Creative Engagement at the Amsterdam-based environmental nonprofit Sovereign Nature Initiative, and his first film, “The Cartographer,” premiered in 2022 at the Berlin Short Film Festival. His story “Repertorio" in Boulevard magazine was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He teaches performance and literary adaptation for the stage at the University of Chicago. sethbockley.com |
Waleed Abdulhamid – bass guitar, vocals. Waleed Abdulhamid is a Canadian Multi-instrumentalist; Composer; Vocalist, Music and Film Producer, known for his striking vocals, and virtuosic ability to play 20 instruments. He has been an active member of the Toronto music scene since his arrival, in 1991, from Sudan. He is currently a faculty member in the music department of the University of Toronto. He has recorded, performed and toured with celebrated artists including David Clayton Thomas of the Grammy Award winning band Blood, Sweat & Tears and Motown legends, The Drifters. He is most proud of his role as a mentor to acclaimed younger artists such as D’bi Young, Ngozi Paul, and Zaki Ibrahim.
Demetri Petsalakis – guitar, oud, band leader / orchestrator. Originally from Athens Greece, Demetri Petsalakis is a Toronto based musician performing in a variety of styles with a focus on Greek and Middle Eastern lutes. Demetri has composed for, recorded and performed with many groups including Kune, Niyaz, Tafelmusik, Sultans of Strings, Ventanas, Near East Trio, Zephyr, Turkwaz, Moneka Arabic Jazz and Moskitto Bar. In 2020 Demetri was appointed the musical director of Kune, a Royal Conservatory world music orchestra with members from eleven different countries. Demetri has a Master of Music degree in jazz guitar performance from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University.
Jessica Deutsch – violin. An in-demand violinist, vocalist, bassist, arranger, MD, producer and composer in Toronto's music scene, Jessica Deutsch was classically-trained from the age of 3 and a three-time national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition. She has a new project with Tyler Emond called Hush, in which she sings and co-writes adventurous indie pop music. She also leads and composes the music for her band Ozere, which mixes classical chamber music with world folk styles. She works with many artists, including Leif Vollebekk, Tyler Shaw, Sarah Slean, Jayme Stone, Tara Moneka, Ventanas, and Beyond the Pale. She also played fiddle in the hit Mirvish musical Come From Away.
Selcuk Suna – clarinet, sax. Selcuk Suna, born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1981, comes from a family of musicians. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada, where he is a freelance musician. His most recent album "Turkish Standards / Non-standard" is out now. While living in Turkey, Selcuk played a weekly late-night show (Beyaz Show) for 13 years; he also played for numerous Turkish pop-stars (Ajda Pekkan, Kayahan, Mustafa Ceceli etc.) Now, he performs traditional Turkish music with Istanbul Band throughout Toronto. Selcuk is a member of the Royal Conservatory's New Canadian Global Music Orchestra, KUNÉ; and has played with many well known groups such as Sultans of String and Ahmed Moneka Arabic Jazz.
Max Senitt – drum kit. Juno Award winning drummer/percussionist Max Senitt is a highly regarded and in-demand freelance musician specializing in music from around the world. Besides performing with acclaimed Grammy and Juno award winning artists such as: Josh Groban, Alex Cuba, Kiran Ahluwalia, and Hilario Duran, he is also a proud member of Moneka Arabic Jazz band, Avataar, Kazdoura, Fractal Sufi and WAPAMA. As an educator, Max teaches privately, is a frequent contributing writer for various music magazines, and a faculty member at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada where he lives.
Demetri Petsalakis – guitar, oud, band leader / orchestrator. Originally from Athens Greece, Demetri Petsalakis is a Toronto based musician performing in a variety of styles with a focus on Greek and Middle Eastern lutes. Demetri has composed for, recorded and performed with many groups including Kune, Niyaz, Tafelmusik, Sultans of Strings, Ventanas, Near East Trio, Zephyr, Turkwaz, Moneka Arabic Jazz and Moskitto Bar. In 2020 Demetri was appointed the musical director of Kune, a Royal Conservatory world music orchestra with members from eleven different countries. Demetri has a Master of Music degree in jazz guitar performance from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University.
Jessica Deutsch – violin. An in-demand violinist, vocalist, bassist, arranger, MD, producer and composer in Toronto's music scene, Jessica Deutsch was classically-trained from the age of 3 and a three-time national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition. She has a new project with Tyler Emond called Hush, in which she sings and co-writes adventurous indie pop music. She also leads and composes the music for her band Ozere, which mixes classical chamber music with world folk styles. She works with many artists, including Leif Vollebekk, Tyler Shaw, Sarah Slean, Jayme Stone, Tara Moneka, Ventanas, and Beyond the Pale. She also played fiddle in the hit Mirvish musical Come From Away.
Selcuk Suna – clarinet, sax. Selcuk Suna, born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1981, comes from a family of musicians. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada, where he is a freelance musician. His most recent album "Turkish Standards / Non-standard" is out now. While living in Turkey, Selcuk played a weekly late-night show (Beyaz Show) for 13 years; he also played for numerous Turkish pop-stars (Ajda Pekkan, Kayahan, Mustafa Ceceli etc.) Now, he performs traditional Turkish music with Istanbul Band throughout Toronto. Selcuk is a member of the Royal Conservatory's New Canadian Global Music Orchestra, KUNÉ; and has played with many well known groups such as Sultans of String and Ahmed Moneka Arabic Jazz.
Max Senitt – drum kit. Juno Award winning drummer/percussionist Max Senitt is a highly regarded and in-demand freelance musician specializing in music from around the world. Besides performing with acclaimed Grammy and Juno award winning artists such as: Josh Groban, Alex Cuba, Kiran Ahluwalia, and Hilario Duran, he is also a proud member of Moneka Arabic Jazz band, Avataar, Kazdoura, Fractal Sufi and WAPAMA. As an educator, Max teaches privately, is a frequent contributing writer for various music magazines, and a faculty member at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada where he lives.
“... beautifully navigates trauma, resilience,
and ambition with a graceful humor.”
Sheila Regan, MinnPost
KING GILGAMESH AND THE MAN OF THE WILD IN THE PRESS
click here to check us out on
Slant Magazine's Best theater of 2023 list!
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"King Gilgamesh and the Man of the Wild is one of Soulpepper’s best pieces of programming of the past year, a perfect summer evening of live performance in the intimate Michael Young Theatre. Strongly recommended — and bring a friend. You’ll be grooving in your seats the whole time"
-Intermission Magazine ✭✭✭✭✭ " This hybrid tale inspired by the 11th century BCE epic is a raucous, glorious celebration of what it means to be alive" -Glenn Sumi "Exploring masculinity and vulnerability, the show demonstrates how creating art together can be a powerful expression of love." -The Toronto Star -"King Gilgamesh & The Man of the Wild mixes ancient mythology and contemporary Canadian life." -The Globe And Mail "The playful but polished show is a community-lifting comfort; it blazes like a campfire piercing a sea of darkness." -Next Mag -Listen to Ahmed Moneka on Metro Morning |
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KING GILGAMESH & THE MAN OF OF THE WILD
was created with support from:
Soulpepper Theatre (Toronto)
La MaMa Experimental Theater Club (NYC)
Under The Radar / Public Theater (NYC)
Pivot Arts Festival (Chicago)
Aga Khan Museum (Toronto)
Tarragon Theatre (Toronto)
And developmental funding from:
Canada Council for the Arts Toronto Arts Council
Ontario Arts Council